Faculty

The overarching goals of my research program are to understand how environmental exposures early in life contribute to the increased risk of disease later in life, as well as the role genetic and epigenetic mechanisms play in driving observed associations.

Despite evidence from animal models supporting a developmental origins of adult disease hypothesis (DOHad), which proposes that adverse events during early life program an increased risk for numerous adult diseases, human studies of in utero or childhood environmental exposures have not been a primary focus until recently. My work in evaluating prenatal air pollution and prenatal tobacco smoke exposures provides evidence that early life exposures are important risk factors for cardio-respiratory health in children and young adults.